<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Returning Home by BeautifulSilence21</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29545872">Returning Home</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeautifulSilence21/pseuds/BeautifulSilence21'>BeautifulSilence21</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adult Damian Wayne, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, Damian Wayne is a vet, Damian Wayne-centric, Dimension Travel, Future Fic, Time Travel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 19:48:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,104</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29545872</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeautifulSilence21/pseuds/BeautifulSilence21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Damian Wayne hadn't seen his family since he run away from home, eight years ago. That is, until he walks into his apartment one night to find his father already there. Just not exactly HIS father.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bruce Wayne &amp; Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson &amp; Damian Wayne, Tim Drake &amp; Dick Grayson &amp; Jason Todd &amp; Bruce Wayne &amp; Damian Wayne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>253</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bruce woke up in an unfamiliar place, in his training attire, with three dogs barking at him and a cat meowing in a corner. The last thing he remembered was being at the cave, studying an unfamiliar artefact, checking to see if its magical abilities were hindered by a specific type of cloth, then a flash of bright light followed by darkness. How long was he out? What did the object even do? And most importantly, where was he?</p><p> </p><p>He bent down and petted the dogs, thankful that they didn’t seem too hostile and looked around at what seemed to be a normal living room in a perfectly normal apartment. He slowly and carefully got up trying to understand how exactly he had managed to end up here.</p><p> </p><p>He looked out the window; it appeared to be late at night, in a city that was definitely not Gotham.  The light was left open in the living room. The apartment had a joined kitchen-living room and there were three doors: One closed that led to what Bruce guessed was the hall of an apartment building, and two that were half opened: a bathroom and a bedroom. There was nothing that seemed weird or out of place. The apartment was neat and clean, almost too clean for accommodating so many animals. It was too simple, too… impersonal.</p><p>The only thing worthy of noticing was one painting hanging by a window. No pictures or frames, nothing that could give him any understanding of why he ended up here. The painting was a landscape Bruce was familiar with, the view from Wayne Enterprises. Two figures could be seen, sitting on the edge of the rooftop, as the sun set in front of them. They didn’t have anything distinctive, just two black figures, a man and a child, so he couldn’t tell whether it was vigilantes or civilians.</p><p>He didn't have the time to give it more thought, before he heard the sound of keys jiggling outside the door and it was quickly opened. There stood a man that greatly resembled him, dressed in jeans and a normal polo t-shirt, looking exhausted and…devastated: Another son? Sure, had been reckless in his teenage years, but not that much, as to not realise he had another child, right? Was this another universe? Maybe time travel? He tried to think of every possibility that could explain his presence, but could find too many to make sense.</p><p>The man’s head turned to him the moment he entered, as if he already knew that he was there, as if he had sensed he was not alone.</p><p>‘’Father?’’ the man whispered, looking shocked.</p><p>And then Bruce understood why he looked so familiar. The only problem? The last time he saw him he was an angry 13 year-old. This man in front of him… he obviously can’t be the same person as his son. Even in this deep state of emotions he could see before, he still looked too collected, too… calm to be him. Perhaps he had managed to jump universes AND time travel then. Just his luck today.  </p><p>Still, he couldn’t ignore his own son in front of him, this version of him anyway.</p><p>‘’Hello Damian’’ he smiled softly, hoping that this world’s Bruce had a better relationship with the kid than he had, or at least that they were talking enough that he wouldn’t just throw him out in an unfamiliar city.</p><p>‘’What are you doing here? How did you get inside my apartment? I…’’</p><p>Bruce was just now noticing the state Damian was in. He had blanched and looked like he was about to be sick. He sighed. So this world’s Bruce and Damian’s relationship was even more strained than his and his son’s. How could he even begin to explain this to him? Should he?</p><p>He just stood there looking at him for a moment, not quite comfortable with the fact that his small child would grow up to be as big as the man in front of him.</p><p>'‘Look, son, I promise you this is not what you think’’ he tried to think what he was going to do. What were the options besides trusting him?</p><p>‘’I believe I am not from around here‘’ he said as calmly as he could, before Damian sighed, rubbing the palm of his hand on his forehead tiredly, before straightening his back and ridding his face of emotion.</p><p>‘’What do you mean not from around here, Father?’’ he asked impatiently, in a tone that reminded him too much of the kid that was waiting for him back home.</p><p>Bruce started getting nervous. If he wasn’t the Batman in this world, there was a big chance that Damian would think he was crazy if he started explaining the truth. He settled answering the question with one of his own, though a much simpler question than the one he wanted.</p><p>‘’Does the Justice League exist here?’’</p><p>Judging from the expression on the other’s face, not only did the Justice League exist, he was Batman there too. And he had just indirectly told his overly suspicious son that he actually didn’t know the answer to the question, or, in better words, that the man in front of him was not his father.</p><p>‘’Who are you?’’ Damian practically growled, taking slow steps to the left, towards the kitchen.</p><p>‘’I believe I may have been…misplaced in either time or universe or both’’ he tried to explain, feeling slightly relieved that, since the JLA existed here too, at least there was a way to go back to his own home.</p><p>‘’How did you get here, then?’’</p><p>Damian now had one hand under the kitchen counter, and Bruce tried to answer the question as quickly as he could, doing his best to avoid finding out what kind of weapon was hidden there-the hard way.</p><p>‘’Magic, I believe. I would like to go to the cave and contact Zatanna, see if she has some answers’’</p><p> </p><p>Damian did his best to contain his nervousness. The last time he went to the cave, or the manor, or Gotham, really, was eight years ago. That was also the last time he had seen any of his family members, the last time he had spoken to any of them. He had left in the dark of the night from the only place that felt like home, but somehow not quite. He left behind the constant disapproval of a father that would never completely trust or support him. All these years, he had done his best to survive on his own, and he did a damn good job. He got himself into college, graduated, gotten his dream job at an animal clinic, all while he had miraculously stayed hidden from both the League of Shadows and the Justice League and all their allies.</p><p>And now that man, a man he owed nothing to, who just appeared in his house and was a version of the last person he ever wanted to see again, wanted him to give all that up, return to the place he swore he would stay away from.</p><p>Damian sighed again.</p><p>He knew he should just turn him away, at best give him some money and hope he found his own way back to Gotham, but he knew wouldn’t. He couldn't. No matter how many years had passed, his first instinct would always be the one Richard had struggled to teach him. To try and help people.</p><p>And if that wasn't enough, well... <strike>He used to be Robin and Robin always took care of Batman.</strike></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Damian was deep in thought as he drove back to the very things he had difficulty run away from. Would his family be happy to see him again? Did they want to? Had they searched for him, or were they simply relieved when he went away? He stopped himself from having those thoughts-he made a choice all these years ago, he left them behind because he was tired of seeking their approval-he would not fall back into the same trap once more.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The man next to him had stayed quiet throughout the whole drive. He seemed to be in a deep state of thought as well, no doubt having picked up on the fact that Damian lived so far away from Gotham, or that he hadn’t already called any of them. As much as Damian logically knew that this was the reason his father was so quiet, a part of him felt a pung of hurt that he hadn’t made any effort to hold a conversation with his son. He shouldn’t be that surprised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Damian sighed to himself. Even after all these years, he still sought his father’s approval and attention.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>After a few dreaded hours of completely awkward silence, they had finally arrived at the Wayne Manor. Damian felt so sick he momentarily considered turning the car around and leaving immediately. In fact, when he tried to list the pros and the cons of turning the car around and leaving, he found it was an excellent choice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He observed his ‘father’. The moment the car stopped, Bruce immediately got out and headed towards the gate, </span>
  <strike>
    <span>as if he couldn’t get out there, get away from him, fast enough</span>
  </strike>
  <span>. Damian couldn’t follow. His hands started shaking and his breaths started shortening, he felt trapped. He wasn’t welcome there anymore, what was he thinking? He needed to leave and he had to be fast about it. Perhaps, if he was lucky, nobody had seen him. He started the car again and turned around, speeding off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> ~~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As much as Damian wanted, he knew he couldn’t drive back home in the state he was in. Regardless, he couldn’t do that. Because he knew that if he turned around and left, he would never be back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He first needed to cool off a bit, and then he would consider his options. He used his old assassin training to momentarily rid himself of his emotions. Once he calmed his mind and his thoughts cleared, finally thinking logically, he found it highly unlikely that Bruce wouldn’t mention him when asked how he got in the manor, so maybe leaving completely was a bad idea. He had to see his family again, one way or another. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He chose to go to one of the few cafes he actually enjoyed back when he lived in Gotham, opting for an espresso and taking a seat in the corner, just by the window. He simply stayed there for a while, getting lost in his thoughts, many ‘what if’s’ in his mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What if he had never left? He had never even let himself consider that idea all these years. But now… Would he still be Robin? Or maybe Batman? Would he have taken on a different name, like Nightwing? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What if he had returned the first time he had gotten into that car 4 years ago, just after his graduation, backpack in hand? Would his father have been proud of him then? Or would he turn him away?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What if he returned now? What were the possible outcomes of his return? Should he even? He hadn’t realized just how much he had missed everyone, even Drake, but he knew he couldn’t handle it if they rejected him for who he was…again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He closed his eyes and sighed once more. Not even two hours in Gotham, he had already slipped back into his old habits of self doubting and emotion masking. But he was older now, more mature. Or at least, mature enough to know that if you keep masking your feelings, the eventually spill in the worst ways possible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Damian had been so occupied by these thoughts that he didn’t realise he was not alone in the table anymore, until he heard a shaky voice</span>
</p><p>
  <span>‘’D-Dami?’’</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>~~</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes, as the car behind him left. He had already noticed how uncomfortable the boy looked, he never expected him to simply run away. Perhaps because he could never see the boy expecting him at home to behave quite in that manner.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He knocked on the door in front of him, actually feeling stupid for not thinking of telling Damian to take him to the cave, so that he isn’t in the open, where anyone can see him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door opened and Alfred greeted him. Nothing seemed out of the blue except the pinch he felt at the side of his throat the moment the door behind him closed. Bruce didn’t have the time to react, before the world went dark.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello!!<br/>Thank you for reading!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>